Mechanism for winking doll eyes



1969 H. KIRSCHENMANN 3,462,876

MECHANISM FOR WINKING DOLL EYES Filed April 13, 1967 United States Patent 3,462,876 MECHANISM FOR WINKING DOLL EYES Harold Kirschenmann, 9839 65th Road, Rego Park, New York, N.Y. Filed Apr. 13, 1967, Ser. No. 630,588 Int. Cl. A6311 3/40 U.S. Cl. 46--135 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a mechanism to produce a selective winking action to the conventional eye or eyes of the conventional sleeping eye dolls. More specifically, an air sac in the dolls resilient body is compressed to force air up a tube into the eye assembly at a critical location to upset the counterweight of the eye assembly.

In the doll art, substantially all dolls use pre-assembled eye units having axially suspended eyeballs having a counterweight to produce a suitable rotation thereof when the doll is disposed horizontally, to thereby produce a pair of closed eyes.

These pre-assembled eyes are inserted in the resilient eye sockets of the plastic doll. These pro-assembled eyes consist of three pieces, namely, a thimble-like casing having oppositely disposed axle receiving bearing recesses at the opening, an eyeball having a suitable counterweight and an axle, and an eyeball retaining ring.

These assemblies are preferably made of plastic in various sizes for dolls of difierent size.

According to this invention, the eye assemblies and the doll eye sockets are provided with apertures in linear alignment to receive a stream of air directed beneath the counterweight. Also the doll is provided with an air sac and a resilient tube therefrom. This tube is led to the aligned apertures of the eye so that compressed air from the sac is directed to the undersurface of the counterweight.

This invention is illustrated herein by a plurality of embodiments shown in the accompanying drawing in which;

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a doll.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a conventional sleeping eye assembly used in dolls and showing an eye socket of the doll for receiving the assembly and showing a band clip of this invention.

FIG. 3 is a section view taken on line 33 of FIG. 1 and showing the manner of securing the band clip to the doll eye socket having an assembled eye therein and further showing the manner of introducing the air tube into the band pipe and the latter through the aligned apertures of the eye socket and the eye casing and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a metal wire modification of the spring clip showing a metal pipe welded to the spring. I

Turning to the drawing, a doll of resilient rubber or plastic is modified by the provision of a resilient rubber or plastic air sac 11. A rubber or plastic tube 12 is secured to the sac 11 and is conducted through a neck plug 13. The tube 12 beyond the plug 13 is attached to a metal pipe 14 or 14X of the spring clip.

The conventional sleeping eye assembly consists of three pieces, namely, the casing 15, the integral eyeball 16 with its counterweight 17 and axle 18, and a retaining ring 19.

The eye assembly is forced into the plastic receiving eye socket 20, which is integral with the doll 10.

According to this invention, a band spring clip 21 or a wire spring clip 22, both preferably made of metal, is provided to direct a jet stream of air against the underside of the counterweight 17.

3,462,876 Patented Aug. 26, 1969 As shown in FIG. 2, the band clip consists of two pieces, namely, a suitably wide metal substantially circular band 24 of spring steel to form a clip about the eye socket 20, and a short pipe 14 opposite the opening 25.

The metal pipe 14 is provided with a shoulder 26 at a critical distance from its small diameter end. The pipe is thus divided into two portions, namely, portion 27 of lesser diameter and insertable into the band aperture to its shoulder 26 and a portion 28 of greater diameter for engaging the tube 12.

As shown in FIG. 3, the casing 15 and the eye socket 20 are provided with alignable apertures 30 and 31.

The aperture 30 of the casing and the aperture 31 of the eye socket are of a diameter to receive the portion 27 of the pipe 14, said apertures being suitably located beneath the counterweight 17 The length of the portion 27 of the pipe is critical in that it accommodates the thickness of the band 24, the thickness of the eye socket 20 and the thickness of the casing 15. The pipe 14 is preferably Welded or soldered to the band 24.

FIG. 4 shows a modified spring clip using steel wire 32 to form the loop. The metal pipe 14X is of uniform diameter and is welded or soldered to the wire 32 beneath the opening 33. The portion of the pipe extending into the loop is critical since it must not be too long so as to touch the counterweight, yet it must pass through the wall of eye socket 20 and the wall of the casing 15.

As shown in FIG. 3, the clip 21 firmly seizes the eye socket 20 to the casing 15, so that the metal pipe 14 is firmly seated in the apertures of the socket and the casing.

In operating the device to produce winking of an eye, or of both eyes if tube 12 is provided with a branch tube, the sac 11 is rapidly squeezed to compress the air in the sac. This compressed air is forced up tube 12 and into pipe 14 to impinge against the underside of the counterweight, thereby upsetting it to produce a wink. The air escapes from around the retaining ring 19. Upon release of the sac 11, the air rushes down tube 12 to fill the vacuum in the sac 11.

The invention is of broad scope and is not to be limited to its illustrations herein.

I claim:

1. A device adapted to produce a winking of a conventional sleeping eye assembly of a doll of plastic manufacture having a molded suitably apertured eye-socket, said sleeping eye assembly having a suitably apertured casing alignable to said aperture of said eye-socket and a counter-weight eyeball hingedly disposed in said casing and a retaining ring retaining said eyeball in said casing, comprising a circular split ring securing said aperture containing eye-socket to said aperture containing sleeping eye assembly having its casing aperture beneath the eyeball counter-weight and aligned with said eye-socket aperture; and a pipe element secured to said ring, said pipe having a critical length disposed interiorly of the circular spring and adapted to pass through the aligned apertures of the combined wall thickness of said eye-socket and the aperture modified casing of said conventional eye assembly a resilient plastic air sac disposed in the body portion of said plastic doll and a pneumatic tube secured to said air sac and to said pipe whereby manual pressure applied to the resilient doll body over the resilient air sac compresses said sac forcing compressed air up said tube to impinge on said counterweight of said eyeball thereby causing said eyeball to momentarily swing to effect a winking action.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the circular spring is a metal band having an aperture therein and said pipe is a dual outside diameter pipe forming a shoulder therebetween, said smaller diameter portion of said pipe being inserted in said aperture of said band up to the pipe shoulder.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein said spring is a metal wire and said pipe is of uniform diameter and fixedly secured thereto.

4. In a resilient plastic doll having a resilient body portion and a plastic head having a molded-in-place plastic eye-socket and a conventional three piece sleeping eye assembly disposed in said eye-socket and consisting of an outer casing, a counterweight eyeball hingedly disposed in said casing and a retaining ring retaining said eyeball within said casing, the improvement comprising said plastic eye-socket having a suitable aperture in the wall thereof, said casing having a suitable aperture therein and aligned with said aperture of said eye-socket, a clip spring clasped to said eye-socket for retaining said eyeball in said casing, said ring having pipe transversely secured thereto with a portion thereof disposed through said aligned apertures of said eye-socket and said casing, a resilient plastic air sac disposed in the body portion of said plastic doll 4 and a pneumatic tube secured to said air sac and to said pipe whereby manual pressure applied to the resilient doll body over the resilient air sac compresses said sac forcing compressed air up said tube to impinge on said counterweight of said eyeball thereby causing said eyeball to momentarily swing to effect a winking action.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/1957 Crompton 46-169 XR 4/1963 Brudney 46166 US. Cl. X.R. 46-169 

